The Eagles Have a Blueprint: How to Proceed After First Win of Season
VICTORYYYYY!!! We’re on the board!!!
Your first-place Philadelphia Eagles picked up their first win on Sunday night against the (shorthanded) San Fransisco 49ers.
The Eagles were actually fun to watch on Sunday and the gutsy performance has Eagles fans hoping this season is alive again.
While the Eagles were far from perfect on Sunday, they did enough to win the football game and I believe they have found a blueprint for success with this team as currently constructed.
And with two difficult games coming up against AFC North opponents, it is going to be important for Pederson, Wentz, and the defense to be consistent and put the Eagles in a position to stack up some wins.
The Defense
The defense was opportunistic for the first time this year on Sunday. They were able to force three turnovers, their firsts of the year, and Alex Singleton took an interception to the house to give the Eagles the lead for good.
The linebackers are still not great, and they were lucky that Nick Mullens had such a bad game but there is a clear blueprint to the success of the defense. The defensive line must lead the way. They are currently first in the NFL in sacks with 17 and they were able to get pressure on Mullens all night forcing a lot of errant throws and stalling drives for the Niners. The Eagles got a lot of production from Genard Avery and Derek Barnett which is making things easier for their interior lineman and secondary.
Darius Slay is worth everything the Eagles gave him. He has been awesome for the Eagles so far this season and continues to show how tough he is coming back from getting banged up in the last two games. If the d line and the Slay can continue to dominate games, the Eagles will be able to cover the holes in the linebacking corp and bring along the secondary that has been continually changing due to injuries this season.
Pederson and the Offensive Plan
Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press
Doug Pederson’s best game of the year was Sunday night and it wasn’t particularly close. He went for two in the first quarter which turned out to be a huge conversion. He was creative pre-snap with motions, and post-snap with play creativity (even if it didn’t always work i.e. double reverse throwback to Wentz) and he let the “Bronco Buck” as Ike Reese would say, allowing Wentz to use his legs to pick up key first downs, score and play freely throughout the game. His run-pass ratio was amazingly a 50-50 split and allowed the offensive line, that featured a first-time starter in Mailata and had Lane Johnson in and out of the game, to get their feet moving and keep the Niners pass rushers off balance.
The offensive line showed up, the receivers made some plays and the running backs continued to grind for yardage. Pederson did a great job of putting a beat-up offense in positions to be successful all night long. If he continues to be consistent with his creativity and continues to create opportunities for success, this offense has a shot with whoever is in there.
Carson Wentz
And the reason this offense has a shot to be successful is Carson Wentz. No, he was not perfect but he was so much better than he has been this year.
He showed how tough he is, how reliable he can be, and was willing to do anything to walk out of San Fransisco with a win (including this block).
Outside of a first drive interception, Wentz protected the ball, put the offense in good positions, and made a few great throws including the deep touchdown to Philly’s new favorite receiver Travis Fulgham.
Is it fair to put the offense’s success on the shoulders of Carson Wentz with the injuries that have plagued the offensive line and receivers? Probably not, but that’s being a quarterback in Philly. The Eagles have a shot this season to win the division but in order to do so, Wentz has to play as well as he did Sunday night if not better. Wentz has to play free, be willing to use his legs, trust his receivers (even if they’re brand new) and be accurate with and protect the football.
The Eagles have a tough matchup Sunday at Pittsburgh. It will be their first game with fans in the stands and the steelers are essentially coming off of a bye. The defensive line and Darius Slay need to dominate defensively, Pederson needs to call a great game and Wentz has to protect the ball and play free in order for the Eagles to have a chance Sunday in Pittsburgh.
The Eagles found their blueprint for success on Sunday night, they have to build on that blueprint to continue to win football games this season.
Featured Image: Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press
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